APEC meeting discusses women’s role in economy

Scene at the First Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE) Meeting (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) - The First Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE)
Meeting opened in Hanoi on May 9 within the framework of the second APEC Senior
Officials Meeting (SOM 2) and related meetings.

In
her opening remark, Hoang Thi Thu Huyen, Deputy Director of the Gender Equality
Department under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA)
who is also PPWE Chair 2017, said 21 APEC economies are currently employing around
600 million women as part of their workforce, with more than 60 percent working
in the formal sector, contributing up to 89 billion USD annually to APEC.

APEC
leaders have continously recognised women’s immense contributions to socio-economic
development and have maintained support to further mainstream gender equality
and women’s economic empowerment across APEC work streams, she said.

However,
Huyen noted that women’s potential has not been fully actualised to make more
contributions to the region.

Therefore,
APEC economies are working to remove barriers and obstacles encourtered by
women, she said, adding that this is the goal being realised through the
efforts and leadership of the PPWE.

The meeting aims to ensure the realisation of PPWE
outcomes from 2016 and make recommendations on necessary interventions to
remove barriers faced by women in the coming time, Huyen stressed.

Addressing the function, MoLISA Deputy Minister Doan
Mau Diep applauded the role played by the PPWE over the past ten years in
reflecting the importance of women in the economy with greater role, position
and more concrete activities.

The PPWE has contributed to a closer relationship between the public sector and
private sector, as well as to better mainstreaming of policies, programmes on
women’s economic empowerment in APEC activities and fora, he said.

However, more need to be done in order to make APEC cooperation more practical
and beneficial to all women to ensure that no woman is left behind the social
and economic growth, and women can contribute to the economic development of
APEC economies, he stressed.

Diep expressed his belief that the two-day meeting will be very successful for
achievement of its expected outcomes including the discussion of next steps to
continue implementing effectively the PPWE Strategic Plan 2015-2018,
development of the basic outline of the Guideline on Gender Mainstreaming in
APEC as well as the development of the draft Ministerial Statement of the Women
and the Economy Forum 2017 which will be held in the central city of Hue in
September this year.-VNA